What Are Different Womens Issues

Over the centuries, in literature and history, women have had presence that has been questioned, admired, frowned upon, pitied and pretty much every other adjective you may chose to associate with the thinkers of many times. I'm not about to delve into the literary criticism of Shakespeare's' many heroines. I simply mean that every author or historian has brought the life of various women under light in accordance with times as well as their own perceptions. And every time has seen women face some common issues. Looking back at the last century one of the most controversial issues was birth control, now we have abortion being debated in elected houses in many industrialized countries such as the US.

But are these issues the only ones that women face? No. Though motherhood is a magnanimous phase in any woman's life, many don't go through it for a good number of adult years. So, not meaning to slight the importance of the aforementioned issues in the least, let's just discuss what the modern woman faces, mom or not, single or otherwise.

Women's Issues:

1. Health: Health is a big issue with people from all walks of life, across the globe and irrespective of region. The cost of health is climbing higher and while legislation for providing cost effective health facilities is far from here, the health complications are only rising. The ratio of women to men when it comes to chronic conditions like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc is significantly higher. While prevention is better than cure and the awareness that is being spread by well meaning organizations is playing its role but on a psychological forefront, women need better and more support groups to tackle their health issues. When Haley Berry decided to have a baby, media went ablaze questioning the responsibility of the decision to conceive while being diabetic. Halley didn't listen, thankfully, but the negative feedback may have blown out candles the flashy cameras never even thought about.

2. Work: it took years of struggle, sweat and blood for women to get descent jobs, equal to their caliber and at equitable wages. Or so the mass media would have us all believe. Sure, there are now stronger laws that bar and check workplace harassment, gender discrimination and the likes, but women still risk career set backs when they are perceived to underperform for reasons beyond their control. Ever hear of a corporate executive calling in a day off because of ‘cramps'. Instead of calling it a day at home from the office, the women just stuff themselves with medication that will make them a bigger statistic in point number one above. It's not that the average person is un-understanding, but the corporate culture is beginning to thrive on treating human beings like machines, regardless of gender. But still, I recently read a study that highlighted married men got more support for career advancement while women actually had to quit carriers or accept slower advancements. This study was on an aggregate level and featured in a renowned organizational behavior text. While some may see it as male domination, I simply think it shows how we approach gender roles. Women in key organizational positions will rather work like machines than speak up for fear of losing the ‘reliable leader' image. They will also expect the same from others working in their charge. Maybe we all just need to lighten up and realize that if a chunk of steel was such a desirable state to be in, why not sleep on iron sheets, Dumas it may sound, the discomfort should highlight the importance of being human.

• John Palsson
• 27/11/2008, 6:59 PM
• 0 Comments